One or the other of my heap of books cites a specific "event" in relation to "Mississippi Sawyer." My recollection is that they named a particular mill that had a dance to celebrate the opening (date known), and the owner of the mill (named) played the tune.

I've been through the primary suspects (sources) without finding the tale, so I guess for the present it remains apocryphal. Even if true (questionable even if I can find the quote) it's likely that the player knew the tune, and it's only the "calling it that" that traces to the mill opening. There was no indication of what it might have been called before.

Since I didn't find anything in 2 of my 3 Lomax (where'd I put the other one?), Kennedy, Warner, Sandburg, or other "reasonably reliable" collectors, and none of the 12 tunebooks it's in have any comment, it may have come from a SingOut! fable (which unfortunately I haven't fully indexed).

Maybe if I take my meds my memory will come back.....

John